Solo The Best Offense (Training)

[Pulren Marsh]

4th of Summer, AV 515

Bureaucracy was bureaucracy, especially in the city of Zeltiva. While Pulren had been accepted into the Martial Society, he soon found that things ran differently than they did in the Wave Guard. There was definitely a rhyme and reason to everything, but at least in his initial days, it seemed that he was on some kind of probation. While eager to work, he accepted that his interview details and skills would be taken in and analyzed for a while before work started coming in. In the meantime, he felt that he would prosper by taking some of the classes offered there. Sure, he had to pay, but he suspected that the quality of the training was probably a sight better than that of a voluntary militia.

He had chosen to train in shield specifically for the upcoming session. After paying the fee for it at the desk, he didn't have to wait for long before a large bald man came out and called his name. Standing, he nodded and followed the man into a room. "No armor, huh?What are we doing today, unarmed?" Pulren had just worn his favorite green linen shirt, black linen pants and his fancy boots. It looked a little silly, but he appreciated the firm stance he could take in the fitted footwear. Perking up at the question, he replied,"You do unarmed? I could certainly use that, but no, I'm here to train in shield." The larger man nodded as they entered a musty paneled room.

The walls had multiple scratches and dents along its surface with just one large window near the ceiling providing light. Turning on his heel, the trainer crossed his arms and seemed to size Pulren up. "Do you carry one already?" Pulren nodded. "Yeah, a large wooden shield, round. Been carrying it for nearly a year now. It's beaten up pretty badly, though, so I figured I would use whatever you had." The man stroked at his long mustache, nodding some more. "Well, I don't have any wooden shields handy, but I have a large metal shield. It's a square too. Think you can handle it?" Pulren opened his arms in a gesture which seemed to provide confidence and readiness.

A little chuckle escaped the man's lips as he turned and walked over to a closet. As he rummaged through it, the cacophony of rattles, bangs and crashes echoing well against the hardwood of the interior of the room, he added, "I'm Marcus, by the way." Pulren nodded. "Marcus? I have a friend with that name." The trainer didn't even look over to respond, finally pulling free a scratched but sturdy square metallic shield and a large mace. He slid the shield across the floor toward Pulren as he tried to jam the door shut, the items inside threatening to rain down from within on him.

Pulren grinned and stepped forward, bending over to pick the shield up. A stern voice came from Marcus:

Not yet! Hold!

Pulren took a step back and waited a moment for him. He could tell this was going to be an interesting lesson.

[Pulren Marsh]

Watching Marcus, the trainer seemed to swing the mace a little. It wasn't a threatening posture, more to make Pulren aware that he had the weapon and was ready to use it. His eyes moved from the metallic sidearm to the weapon and then to the trainer's eyes and body posture. He wouldn't bend over. That would be a rookie maneuver and he wouldn't even bother attempting it. If it was wooden, he would try to kick it up, but the metal shield looked like it might fall poorly. With the smaller dimensions of the room, it looked like it was more wide than long. The floor was wood and seemed scratched and marred but relatively smooth. He would need to test his opponent and his readiness.

First Pulren stepped to the side as if he might try to flank the man. Marcus moved in perfect harmony, moving to receive the flank, the mace changing hands. He was nearly in range of it and Pulren stopped there. "You're not green. I appreciate that. You're a paying member too, so don't think I will injure you. I will protect the target, however." Pulren grinned and nodded. He expected this to be some kind of maneuver to make him drop his defenses and reach for the shield. There was no way he would do that. The whole class was about defensive maneuvers. He did want to test the waters about the injury comment, however. If he tried to kick the shield laterally, he would be flanked. He would have to act fast and be clear in his initiative. He also had to think as if the trainer would injure him. A real fight rarely offered so much honor.

Without warning, he ran toward Marcus, surprising him. The other man backed up, readying his mace to strike. Pulren jumped over the shield between them but when he landed on the other side, he kicked his leg up, the mace swinging out to greet it. It was no strike, though. The leg swung backward and kicked the shield across the floor behind him. He ran along with it as it clattered, then and only then bending down and catching the edge of the shield. Realizing the ruse, Marcus moved in with the mace, the weapon rising to come down. Pulren quickly tossed the shield up a few inches and caught the grip in his hand, raising it in time to ring with the strike from the mace.

Running to the other side of the room, he fitted the shield properly on his left arm, his posture crouching and the shield rising up to eye level. Marcus began to swing the mace around, tossing from hand to hand, a great laugh bellowing from his lungs. "Very good. I didn't expect that at all. Sunberth made you hairy. I appreciate that. You ready to continue?" Pulren smirked from behind the shield, nodding. "Absolutely."

[Pulren Marsh]

They had arrived at an impasse, the two sizing each other up further. Marcus cleared his throat. "So, now you are armored, but you may not realize that you are also armed. Your shield has edges and it has weight. Imagine if I was unarmed. You could strike me with the shield as I am sure you have tried before. It's important to remember that as you enter combat. Though you use a weapon, you actually have two weapons at all times." He returned to a defensive posture with the mace at eye level.

Pulren nodded, absorbing the message and feeling the weight of the metallic shield in his hand. It was easily as heavy as his opponent's weapon and it offered protection as well. He could tell that carrying something like this all the time would require more muscle than he currently had. He needed to work out anyway, one of many...

All of a sudden, Marcus moved forward and swung the mace at Pulren's head. He moved his foot out to brace, the shield taking the brunt of the blow. Another swing came laterally at his ribs and he brought the shield down again, though the force of the strike pushed him back a few paces. "Get your mind on the lesson, boy!" Marcus was right. Pulren had started daydreaming and had taken his mind off of the fight. In a real fight it could have cost him his life. He shook everything out of his head and pushed back with the shield, moving in toward Marcus with a straight bash attempt. The man easily moved back out of the way but it brought space back between the pair. A nod from his better told him that he was ready to resume the spar.

It was now his turn to take the offensive as he had been ordered. He suspected that the key would be to watch his opponent as closely as he had been observed. The mace was top heavy and while Marcus could swing it as quickly as someone Pulren's age, there was still a gap in between. It reminded him of when he had used the shield versus Rick's sword back in his early Wave Guard days. Moving forward, he shot out forward with the shield, probing as much as attacking. Marcus seemed to pick up on this, his strikes not as accurate and more to back Pulren off then actually attack. The body was no good, so he went up with the shield toward the man's head. The angle of the attack was off putting for the mace and Marcus went to bring it in toward the rib cage since it was exposed.

Probably only due to it being a spar and Pulren not being armored, the strike wasn't as firm as it would be in battle, though it did sting a bit. Since it had come from his left side, however, he took the initiative to bring the shield's edge down into the crook of the man's elbow, hard enough to push the mace arm down in an equal display of offense. He probably brought it down harder than he should have, a grunt coming from Marcus as the mace came out of his hand and clattered on the ground. Pulren quickly kicked it at the head so that it rolled away from the man's grip, backing off from the pinch in his side.

"Sorry if that was too hard. Wasn't expecting the strike in my ribs."

[Pulren Marsh]

Stepping back, he heard a cacophony of chuckles coming from Marcus as he looked at Pulren to see if he would allow the trainer to pick up the weapon. An opening of the arms gave assent and he cheerfully picked the heavy bludgeon up, though Pulren was still moving in a slow opposite circle to avoid any immediate repercussions. Standing and flexing the wielding arm, Marcus looked almost too happy about the disarm. "Not at all, son. That was a fine tactic. I heard you used to be a Wave Guard and now I believe it. Paid thugs probably do well against fishermen and smugglers."

"Ha!" The sound came from Pulren's chest. What a complete shykehead this guy was. He wasn't completely off but paid thugs? "Well, mercenaries won't protect the city unless they are paid exorbitant fees. Guess why I switched sides?" He thought his own zing back at the man might be as fun as formidable. The joy in Marcus' eyes troubled Pulren but he didn't have much time to ponder it as the older man charged him, using his full strength against the shield. He also hit it at the inside edge, causing it to nearly pop his forearm off while sailing across the floor. Pulren's own arm throbbed from the effort and while it was clear that Marcus had the advantage and could exploit it, he would not. His mace came back to his side and he bowed.

"Mercenaries generally have class. Come back with more mizas to pay me, kid."

With that, it was clear that the lesson was over. While he wasn't sure if he had offended the old prune, he didn't particularly care, choosing to place the shield against the wall for him and make his way out and back home.

Ledger :

-5 GM for Novice lesson

[Dove Brown]

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Pulren Marsh

Skills

• Socialisation 1
• Tactics 1
• Weapon: shield 3

Lores

• Marcus: Martial Society trainer
• A lesson in shields
• Shields: for attack as well as defence

Miscellaneous

• Mizas (+/-) | -5 GM for a Novice lesson
  

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